Breath of Fire

"Cat" Catalia Fisa has been running from her destiny since she could crawl. But now, her newfound loved ones are caught between the shadow of Cat's tortured past and the threat of her world-shattering future. So what's a girl to do when she knows it's her fate to be the harbinger of doom? Everything in her power.

BUT NOT IF SHE CAN HELP IT

Griffin knows Cat is destined to change the world-for the better. As the realms are descending into all-out war, Cat and Griffin must embrace their fate together. Gods willing, they will emerge side-by-side in the heart of their future kingdom...or not at all.

This book was provided by the publisher (via NetGalley). This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Knight's Judgment

Plot

Characters

Writing Style

Cover

Enjoyment

Overall:

Well then.

Cat’s back in the second installment of the Kingmaker Chronicles and the stakes are higher than ever. A Promise of Fire saw her fighting against her past and falling for the alpha male Griffin who kidnapped her (that’s a whole other conversation). But in order for them to have a peaceful future and achieve Griffin’s vision of a united Thalyria, they must protect their own borders and take out the neighboring royals.

Just another day for Beta Team.

For nearly half of Breath of Fire, I held little interest in the story. It ranged between Griffin freaking out and going all possessive alpha (which I really disliked in the last book) while Cat apologizes and believes herself worthless in comparison, to sex scene, back to relationship struggles, sex, etc. The romance would’ve had more heat if it weren’t for the fact that I think they both need some serious counseling as a couple. Didn’t like it in book 1, still not a fan in this one.

Once the story moved past the back-and-forth, things picked up. While A Promise of Fire brought in the Greek myth laden throughout this world, Breath of Fire lived it. Bouchet brought all the magical creatures out to play, from the (unnamed) Chimaera (though based on the description that’s what I think it was), the Hydra, and even Cerberus makes his return.

Also, I want Cerberus as a pet.

Breath of Fire doesn’t quite strike the same balance of romance and fantasy as the previous installment, starting heavy on the former and shifting in the extreme to the latter. Bouchet sends us into the midst of myths and legends as Cat faces one creature after the next with the gods’ blessings. For the second half of the book, there’s rarely a moment spent where she’s not in danger. But with all that action, the other characters get to shine more.

One comment I had regarding the last book was the fact that I wanted more from the side characters instead of Griffin (yeah, you get it, I don’t like him). Each of the Beta Team members had a stronger role in this book: Kato and Cat working together in the icy labyrinth, Flynn and Jocasta finally starting to share their feelings for each other (it needed to happen sooner or later), Carver’s back story coming out, etc. Even the circus family returned. With all the setting details this time around, I think the story needed to bring out the characters to balance it out.

By the end of Breath of Fire I was firmly hooked and back into the series, eagerly awaiting book #3. The ending reveal wasn’t as hard-hitting as I had hoped but, then again, I felt it a predictable move based on the couple. These books are good but certainly not completely unique when it comes to the romance aspect of the plot. As for the fantasy and adventure, you’ll definitely want to grab a copy as soon as you can. Perfect for fans of Greek mythology and fated destiny.

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2 responses to “Review – Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet”

First of all, your blog is lovely. I just had to say that. I dream of having a blog that looks like this! Two, I have the first book on my TBR but haven’t read it. Looks good, though! Love how you were able to get your ratings to show up on your sidebar: I tried making a graphic but the font ended up tiny, and so everyone told me to shorten my rating text…but your text is long and seems to work. Did you use anything special? A plugin? I’m just trying to figure out the world of blog design here, lol. (Did you simply use a text box?)
So sorry to comment with questions, but I’m a new follower and HAD to ask!

I really liked the first book (and this one). There's a pre-order incentive for this one, actually, and you can get the first book free with it! (Link in the sidebar for incentives) 😉

The sidebar ratings aren't a plug-in exactly. I use the Rating Report Add-On from NoseGraze (I believe that one is free) and you can set your own categories and what the ratings are for each one.

If you're making your own graphics, it could be because the image is being resized to fit in your sidebar. I recommend making the image either the size of the sidebar (width-wise) or some larger ratio of that size so that it doesn't shrink!

The add-on uses the blog's "tables" which I customized with the font, color, etc. to fit NK. But you could also insert a table there too. The nice thing about the add-on is I have it set to show up for all reviews (assuming they have a break-down for the rating as some of my older reviews don't) so you don't have to add it in each time.

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Rating Scale

Well, there went my day. Couldn't put it down. I think it destroyed any hope of reading other books...

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It shall receive high recommendations. Now go read it.

This book was average. Neither good nor bad. Certainly not the worst book I've read, but not the best either.

This book really just wasn't for me.

Well, I finished it. How? I don't know. Definitely do not recommend.

Did not finish. Self explanatory.

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I'm a twenty-something children's and adult fiction book reviewer. Science teacher in training. Ready to give you your next book recommendation!

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